The Beauty in Conflict

Matthew Dols' photographic and artistic perspective is not just one of observation. It is a study of beauty in conflict - an artistic conflict and an inner one. His new works create an amalgamation of two artistic mediums into one unified expression assembled in layers of thin paper, figurative photographs, and gilding. The exhibition presents a different and unique approach to the art of photography. This is not a traditional photographic exhibition which documents or shapes reality. The photographic figures, which are at the center of the works, are just an initial point of departure. Once printed on handmade and fine art papers, the printed image undergoes a process of folding and the addition of numerous layers of thin semi-transparent paper that allow the viewer to sense what is under or beyond the transparency. The novelty offered by Dols is more fundamental. It combines photography with the art of paper itself. Photography is just one of two paths of image research: it is the starting point for the study of the image breaking and fusion as something new, which is more psychological - a depiction into the artist's conflicted mind. The texture of the layers of paper covers the exposed figure and hides the vulnerable sensuality underneath. The works simultaneously hides and reveals new aspects of the body. Sometimes a part of the figure is uncovered. Sometimes it completely disappears behind the layers of paper, which in a contradictory manner draws attention to the act of concealment. Dols describes the inner conflict in his words: "I am a walking contradiction; I desire both to be guarded and vulnerable." Therein lies the beauty and curiosity that the artworks create. They clearly express these contradictions: the exposure, which can indicate security, confidence, or protection and the cover and concealment, which subtly reveal the vulnerability and search for a deeper understanding. The folds of the paper are like wounds which cut the beauty. They are sharp and unwavering - hurting the figure and the paper - reshaping our feelings through the deconstruction of the known and the recognized, by constructing a new beauty in conflict. by Curator, Hagai Segev